


No more bloodshed, okay?

by kmd0107



Category: Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death Fix, Fix-It, Gen, Spoilers, TV Tropes, the last 10 minutes are trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-09 15:23:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19890040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmd0107/pseuds/kmd0107
Summary: If RT is allowed to use worn-out tropes then so am I.  The one in which KMD fixes the last 10 minutes of Season 4.





	1. Chapter 1

Veronica lets the window fall back closed, she’s pretty sure it’s a five-hour difference, but if anyone would know off the top of his head it’s Logan. A happy sigh escapes, no one will see, she’s allowed a moment of un-ironic marital bliss. 

But the words of the limerick come back to her. “ _Heroes upon whom we’re doting._ ” Penn’s gloating face as she tried to enjoy a victory lap at his expense. “ _I’ll tell you what, hero._ ” He’d been so proud of himself, as though he were the one who’d just won. Rather than the one sitting in the back of a cruiser with handcuffs and an almost certain life sentence in his future. His bag, snacks and supplies, they’d never checked it. In a rush to get to the courthouse, she’d never told the police about the bag. 

She turns to try to stop Logan, the glass stings her eyes, the depth of the explosion blows her hearing, her lungs seem paralyzed and…

“Veronica. Hey, I think you’re having a bad dream, wake up sweetheart.” 

Logan’s cool, dry hand sweeps down her cheek. Alive. She takes deep gulps of air, the stinging sensation of the dream is her throat constricting as hot tears stream down her cheeks. Alive.

She feels the car swerve and stop. The world still has a dream-like quality to it, but it felt so real. “ _I’ll tell you what, hero_.”

Logan’s turns to face her, and the world resumes turning. She’s in her car. They’re driving to Sedona for their honeymoon.

“Veronica, I think you’re having a panic attack. Can you breath with me?” Logan takes her hand and places it on his chest, exaggerates deep, slow breaths.

Instead of breathing with him, she rips off the seatbelt and climbs across the car.

“Whoa, you’re okay.” The seat slides back, and she’s in his lap, he’s always had fast reflexes.

“Nightmare,” Veronica finally squeaks out. “You—” she swallows painfully around the stabbing pain in her throat and chest “—died.”

“No, no, shhh, I’m right here.” His fingers tangle in her hair, and his lips press against her forehead. “Want to talk about it?”

At first, Veronica wants to say nothing, that she’s okay. But she most certainly is not okay. The dream could have been a reality. If her dad hadn’t stopped her, reminded her about Penn’s bag in her car.

“I forgot Penn left his backpack in my car.”

“The one with the bomb?”

“Yes.”

“It didn’t happen. I’m right here.” His words should have reassured her. After everything they’d been through, the idea of losing him to a mistake was more than she could handle. It felt like her heart was going to tear itself out of her chest.

Logan’s hands rub up and down her back, a soothing balm on her beyond frayed nerves. His heart beats steady and strong in his chest. So many times she’s taken comfort in that sound. It reaffirms her decision to marry him, not that she had any second thoughts, but this, knowing she doesn’t ever want to live without him, there’s no going back for her. And the truth is, there never was.

“No more bloodshed, okay?” she whispers against her chest.

“That would mean no more continents. Do you know what you’re asking? What that would mean for both of us?” he says back just as softly, his breath warm against her scalp.

“I’m not sure. I—” Veronica reaches for the words but doesn’t have them, not yet. But there is something else she can say, that just maybe she’s ready for. “I think I’m ready to talk to Jane.”

“I’d really like that. And so you know, I didn’t bring the bat phone. No, interruptions. Just you and me for the next ten days.”

Veronica squeezes him as tight as she can before releasing her hold and climbing back into the passenger’s seat. 

Logan Echolls is alive, and unless he changes his mind when they get back and mail that marriage certificate in, he’ll be Logan Mars and does she ever like the sound of that. 


	2. The best kind of disappointment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was struck with a little more inspiration thanks to all of your lovely comments. I don't know what will come of canon but I know all of us here, we're going to be just fine. LoVe will always be there for each other, and for us. Much love to you all - XOXO

The Neptune courthouse will never be the same to Veronica. Not since she married Logan here a month ago. She harbors more than a few negative emotions about this place, but out in the courtyard, holding Logan’s hands. “Yeah, why not?” There are no negative emotions strong enough to overshadow the happiness and contentedness she feels for the first time in her life.

Despite, all her happiness, she does feel a chill of nerves. She’s about to talk with the man that almost killed her. Could have killed her dad, nearly did kill him, or even Logan. She shudders, remembering her terrifying nightmare. She’s had it more times than she can count since that day, but she wakes up to Logan beside her, and he chases away the demons.

She pushes through the doors and navigates the maze of offices and conference rooms until she spots Cliff leaning uncomfortably against the wall outside one of the secure conference rooms.

“Are you sure you want to do this, V?” he asks, face etched with concern.

“No, but what if there is something or someone else still out there? I have to do this.”

“You do not. In fact, I strongly recommend against it,” Veronica starts to interrupt Cliff, but before she can he continues, “but I know you’re a grown woman capable of handling that little shit.”

“Of course, I am. Besides, I have a couple of things I want to say to Epner too.” She nods toward the door, but hesitates, and wraps her hand around Cliff’s arm. “You aren’t going to keep representing him, right?”

“No, V. I already resigned due to my connection to you, your husband, and your father.”

Veronica smiles like she has every time she’s heard Logan referred to this way. Her husband. “Okay, then I’m ready.”

Cliff opens the door and steps aside for Veronica to enter first. She’s a heap big private investigator, nothing scary beyond those doors. Yeah, right, Veronica. She takes a deep breath and steps into the room.

She doesn’t even get the chance to sit before Penn Epner starts his latest tirade. “I’m disappointed, Mars. I really thought I had you.”

You can do this, Veronica. She lets a Logan worthy smirk shape her lips and takes the seat Cliff indicates across the table from the shackled and orange jumpsuited Epner.  
  
“By leaving your bag in my car? Come on, did you think the police wouldn’t want to search my car? Or better yet, that all your gloating wouldn’t have tipped us off? You’re lame beyond belief Penn. You’re no mastermind, you’re just a middle-aged pizza boy.”  
  
“I don’t believe you, I had you, and your dad fooled.”  
  
“Believe me don’t believe me, that’s your problem. Me, I’m busy, new clients to help cases to solve. If you don’t have something worth my time, I’ll see ya at your trial Epner,” she said and moved to stand up, hoping her lack of interest would get him to make a mistake.

“Sit down, Mars. There is something else. I know something I bet you’d kill to know.”

“Oh yeah, and what is that, exactly?”

“I know who killed Lilly Kane. You see we murderheads—”

Veronica snorted and finished standing from her chair. “Old news. I know who killed Lilly Kane, you’re wasting my time.”

Epner stared at her, genuinely confused. He couldn’t know that Aaron Echolls had admitted his guilt to her more than once, that she’d seen the tapes, that he’d almost killed her too. No, people didn’t believe her testimony, not that she’d gotten to actually tell her side of what happened. “Hard to punish a dead man. But you’ll be familiar with that concept in a few years too. Hey, you want to know what I heard, the judge has banned you from all internet access. We got you plain and simple like I said before, I’ll see you at your trial.”  
  
It felt good to rub it in his face even if she had smudged the facts. The truth was she almost had driven off with the bomb still in her car. The truth was, even now as she walks away from him restrained and in the custody of the California State Police and the FBI, she is still terrified of Penn Epner.

>   
>  _Keith gingerly settles himself into the passenger seat, moving more slowly and stiffly than usual._  
>    
>  _“Dad, I need to tell you some good news. Logan and I—“she stops speaking at the lack of acknowledgment._  
>    
>  _Keith stares off into the distance, no sign that he’s hearing her words. Abruptly, he turns to her. “Penn, he had a bag, Veronica, where is it?” Keith says, voice wavering._  
>    
>  _“Bag, what bag? Old man, are you having a brain freeze?” she asks, her whole body going cold with fear._  
>    
>  _“No, I’m having a moment of clarity. Penn had a backpack.” Keith releases his seatbelt and turns to look into the cramped backseat._
> 
> _Veronica starts to turn too, but is stopped by Keith shouting, “Out of the car now!”_  
> 

She’d scrambled from the car while her father yelled for the bomb squad. Within minutes Epner’s little gift had been found and disarmed.  
  
Veronica shudders at the still raw mental wound of her near-fatal mistake. The bomb was set to go off right when either she or Logan would have run down to move the car for street cleaning. One small change and could have her everything, everyone, she cared about.  
  
She walks across the floor of the sheriff’s department, a fine tremor making her movements slow and unsteady. Logan appears from behind a dividing partition, measured steps, a troubled frown on his face.  
  
Veronica hurries her pace, a little stumble almost taking her down as her legs turn to jelly. They survived this. They’re all okay. Dads going to get better, Logan is alive, I’m married to Logan. We survived again.  
  
Logan’s arms wrap around her, and he tucks her under his arm before moving them toward the exit.

“Ready to see Jane,” he asks, his concern evident and his anger just a whispering undercurrent. Evidence of who Logan has worked to become. No more destroying cop cars to beat up the people who hurt Veronica. Finally, she’s ready to let him stand shoulder to shoulder with her and take them on.  
  
“Let’s do it.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a bandaid for my heart. Our characters deserved more and it is my hope that you all will keep writing in our fandom. One of the things I've loved both about fanfiction in general and about this fandom, in particular, is that we get to take the things we love most about these characters and take them on journies their creators never could have conceived. 
> 
> I cheated and gave my brain an easy way out with the "it was a dream" trope, but I am truly looking forward to all of the creative and wonderful ways that you all, the true guardians of these characters, will come up with to give LoVe the future they deserve. 
> 
> I have a date with a hot florist who will be meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time.  
> Much LoVe - KMD


End file.
